Swan in a bit of a flap in town centre

A fully grown swan may have thought that the car park at Williamson Street in Falkirk was a small lake in this picture taken from our archives.

For that’s where it chose to stop – to the alarm of local residents and SPCA officers in January 1982.

The officers were on hand to help the bird move along from the car park to the more suitable Callendar Park.

Local SPCA inspector Drew Nichol said at the time: “The swan could have mistaken the black tarmac in the car park for the waters of a lake.

“Alternatively it could have come into contact with overhead wires, a high building or even a tree and that could have brought it down. Swans lose a bit of confidence when they are down on the ground and generally just wander about, which is what this one was doing when it was discovered in nearby Arnot Street.”

However after Inspector Nichol and Inspector Robert Dickenson intervened the bird was happily coaxed into relocating itself in the much more suitable lake in Callendar Park.

Residents had reported the bird to the police earlier and they had contacted the animal welfare charity who sent the two inspectors to deal with the swan.